Search Results for: Tom Ellis

Zero Waste or Waste Authority?

by Tom Ellis, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition Save the Pine Bush and friends won a partial victory in late February when Clough Harbour & Associates (CHA) revised the preliminary draft solid waste management plan it had issued in mid-December on behalf of a “steering committee” appointed by Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings. CHA faced considerable pressure from two steering committee members, SPB, Citizens’ Environmental Coalition, and many others. During the past fifteen months, the city of Albany has been developing a long-range…

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Albany County & Banning Styrofoam

Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY The Albany County Legislature is considering legislation that would extend the ban on the use of one-time use (take-out) food and beverage polystyrene foam containers from restaurants and eateries with fifteen or more establishments in the US (enacted three years ago) to all restaurants and eateries in the county. A public hearing was held on November 22 at which the polystyrene industry sent eight or nine representatives who spoke in opposition to the proposed law. Three…

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Overview of Climate Crisis and NY Renews

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY Mark Schaeffer of 350.org and Conor Bambrick of Environmental Advocates (EA) spoke at the September 21 SPB dinner about the climate crises and the need for a political climate change. Mark led off saying pre-industrial age atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were 280 part per million (ppm) and today are 400+ ppm, in part the result of years of inaction resulting from decades of disinformation by the fossil fuel industry, including Exxon. He said we…

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The Way We Were

by Tom Ellis   ALBANY, NY: Don Rittner was the guest speaker at the June 20 SPB dinner.  Don was introduced by John Wolcott who said Don took Albany by storm in 1973 with his archaeological research of the Isaac Truax Tavern on the King’s Highway that George Washington stopped in six times.  He said Don also has the distinction of being fired by Albany Mayors Erastus Corning and Tom Whalen. Don titled his presentation, “The Way We Were.”  Using a PowerPoint,…

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Neil Gifford Presents A Pine Bush Update

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: At times speaking poetically, Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission (commission) Conservation Director Neil Gifford spoke at length about the Karner Blue Butterfly (KBB) at the March 21 SPB dinner. He began with a friendly joke that “It’s Lynne and Rezsin’s fault I am here tonight,” a reference to the commission being created by state government after many years of SPB advocacy and litigation to protect the local pine barrens known as the Pine Bush. Mr….

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Jerry Jennings Blinked

by Tom Ellis   First-term Albany Common Council member Frank Commisso, Jr., has figured out how Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings operates and is determined to make substantive changes.  A member of the common council’s finance committee, he led a revolt over two proposed bonding ordinances – one for $7 million to expand the city’s Rapp Road landfill yet again, the other for $2.35 million to “restore” the landfill.   Both ordinances were enacted on April 2 but Jennings made concessions. About one-half the 15-member common council attended…

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Geothermal Power is Possible in the City

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY— “The future is bright,” said John Ciovacco, President of Aztech Geothermal, at the November 15 SPB dinner. He spoke about “Geothermal Heat Pump Systems as One solution to Climate Change.” Aztech was founded in 2007, the first installations were in 2009, and 350 installations have now been completed. Mr. Ciovacco used a PowerPoint and was accompanied by two of his workers. He said geothermal power has many names including geothermal heat pumps and “utility geothermal…

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The City is Selling 363 Acres of Land in Coeymans

by Tom Ellis About 25 years back, Albany politicians made a foolish decision to purchase a large property in Coeymans (ten miles south of Albany), hoping to site a regional landfill there to replace the Rapp Road Landfill that DEC was then threatening to soon close. Albany took many years purchasing the property, eventually spending more than $5 million for 363 acres. During that decade city officials apparently never carefully examined the site to see if it was suitable for…

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Rethink Plans for Disposal Facility

Congratulations to Tom Ellis for his excellent letter-to-the-editor which appeared in Thursday’s Times Union (12/30/10) concerning the SWMP plan, the proposed solid waste authority and the possibility of an incinerator being constrducted in the area. The letter is shown below. In addition to the points Tom made in his letter, it should be mentioned that shifting Albany’s landfill debt to a solid waste authority will not relieve Albany taxpayers from the obligations of that debt. Instead of paying the City…

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Rezsin Adams Remembered At the Save the Pine Bush Dinner

by Tom Ellis, October 2020 Newsletter ALBANY: Save the Pine Bush President Rezsin Adams, who died August 13 at age 93, was lovingly honored and remembered at a September 16 virtual Save the Pine Bush meeting facilitated by Lynne Jackson. Carol Waterman said Rezsin had a wonder-ful sense of humor, could be hilarious, and once allowed herself to be all dolled up as part of a La-dies Against Women guerrilla group skit; Rezsin posed and preened like a fashion model….

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Archaeology in the Pine Bush

by Tom Ellis ALBANY: Derrick Marcucci of Landmark Archeology was the featured speaker at the November 16 SPB dinner at the Westminster Presbyterian Church. He said most of his firm’s Pine Bush work involves development proposals, the number of which have dropped off quite a bit in the past three years. The Pine Bush he said, has been a natural corridor between the Hudson and Mohawk River valleys, was once 40 square miles, and is a unique ecosystem. Developers, he…

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Save the Pine Bush Virtual Meeting – Wednesday, February 22, 2023 6:30 PM

Save the Pine Bush Zoom Meeting February 22, 2023, at 6:30 p.m. Alÿcia Bacon Moms Out Front and Save the Pine Bush Volunteer, will speak about … How to Get Our Government to Protect the Remaining Pine Bush Organizing a Lobbying Campaign Alÿcia Bacon will give a presentation on creating an effecting lobbying campaign. The battle for Pine Bush preservation started 45 years ago this month. Up until now, Save the Pine Bush has mostly used litigation to stop development…

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Deconstruction Not Demolition

By Tom Ellis RENSSELAER: Andrew Cuomo has now been governor for ten years. He constantly congratulates himself for being a wonderful forward-looking environmentalist and as someone serious about fighting climate change. Missing from his action plans are commitments to detoxify the economy, reduce solid wastes, and correctly manage what we discard. I frequently observe tremendous amounts of materials placed out on the curb for disposal, much that could be recycled, reused, and composted. I often read about buildings being demolished…

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COVID-19 and Dunn Landfill

by Tom Ellis RENSSELAER, NY: The Covid-19 pandemic highlights a major problem with government in the USA, NYS, and locally.  Executive agencies employ vastly more people than legislatures despite the complaint that legislatures are bloated. Elected executives (presidents, governors, county executives) appoint commissioners and other top staff, often subject to approval by a legislative body, to lead executive agencies.  These appointed officials are thus directly answerable to the executive, who can fire them at any time. Lower ranking employees have…

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Lou Ismay and the Environmental Forum

by Tom Ellis ALBANY, NY: On August 21, Lou Ismay completed the lecture he began in April about his experiences teaching and leading the Environmental Forum course at the University at Albany beginning fifty years ago. Lynne Jackson introduced Lou saying Lou’s office was in the Arts building. Lou hung strings from the ceiling connected to manila folders with the names of the many Forum guest speakers. Lynne happily recalled the cookie jar in Lou’s office that held large cookies….

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Battling Hazardous Waste Incineration

By Tom Ellis COHOES: Lights Out Norlite, NATURE Lab, Saratoga Sites Against Norlite Emissions, and the Hudson Mohawk Environmental Action Network held a virtual Hazardous Waste School on December 16 at which four hazardous waste experts discussed various aspects of the issue. The program concerned the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator in Cohoes. Bruce Buckheit worked for the federal government from 1984-2003 helping enforce the Clean Air Act. He was Senior Counsel in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the Department of…

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Updates in Brief — Trucks, Zero-Waste Tulipfest and a Leaking Landfill

by Tom Ellis Rensselaer city residents have intensified their efforts to stop nearly 100 large trucks per day from driving through the downtown. The trucks, which have 18, 22, 24, or 26 wheels. supposedly carry construction and demolition (C&D) debris wastes. They traverse Broadway and turn east onto Partition Street with its steep hill en-route to a C&D dump at the east end of Partition Street. The trucks arrive beginning at 6:30 each weekday morning; dozens go by before 7:30,…

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Save the Pine Bush Loses a Friend

by Tom Ellis Labrador: Jim Learning of the Labrador Land Protectors, who spoke at the April 20, 2016 SPB dinner about his work to preserve rivers in Canada from needless destruction, died on April 16. He was 81. He was a Grand River Labrador board member and Nunatu-Kavut councilor.  Jim’s 2016 stop in Albany was part of his ten-day educational and advocacy tour on NY, New England, and Nova Scotia in which he pleaded with listeners to reject electricity imports…

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Judith Enck Speaks About Cleaning the Air

by Tom Ellis ONLINE: Long-time local environmental leader and former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Judith Enck spoke on “Cleaning the Air” at the June 17 Virtual Vegetarian/Vegan Lasagna Dinner. Judith spoke primarily about Lafarge and Norlite. She began with the state-owned ANSWERS trash incinerator that operated, with high lead and dioxin emissions, in Albany during the 1980s and 1990s. Judith said SPB members Rezsin and Ted Adams, and John Wolcott played a large role in closing it. After…

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Regulate Toxins

by Tom Ellis In the wake of the George Floyd murder, much has been said and written about how policing and public safety require major overhauls in the United States. The same applies to how the New York state government regulates environmental toxins. Human health and the environment are being poisoned with the support of the state environmental conservation (DEC) and health (DOH) departments. A major aspect of the problem is that the governor appoints top staff of both agencies….

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SPB Newsletters Listed by Date – 2020s

2020s 🦋 2010s 🦋 2000s 🦋 1990s Search Newsletter Archives: 2023 🦋 2022 🦋 2021 🦋 2020 2023 Newsletters 🦋 News Articles from April / May 2023 Newsletter The Costco Public Hearing & Climate Change by Lynne Jackson – April / May 2023 Newsletter Ward Stone — NYS Wildlife Pathologist Worked for the People by Lew Oliver – April / May 2023 Newsletter Ward Stone was employed by the state but he worked for the people, animals, and environment by…

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Welcome to Save the Pine Bush!

46 years of fighting for the Pine Bush John Wolcott, historian, preservationist, activist, and fierce advocate for the Pine Bush, dies at 90 ALBANY, NY: It is with great sadness that Save the Pine Bush learned of the passing of John Wolcott of Albany, NY, Thursday afternoon, August 17.  John was a founding member of  Save the Pine Bush in 1978.  He was a plaintiff on every lawsuit filed by Save the Pine Bush. Born September 22, 1932, John passed away a few…

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April / May 2023 Newsletter

News Articles from April / May 2023 Newsletter The Costco Public Hearing & Climate Change – Lynne Jackson Ward Stone — NYS Wildlife Pathologist Worked for the People – Lew Oliver Ward Stone was employed by the state but he worked for the people, animals, and environment – Tom Ellis Recent Save the Pine Bush Newsletters April / May 2023 Newsletter – Download printable PDF version February / March 2023 Newsletter – Download printable PDF version November/December 2022 Newsletter –…

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Newsletters Articles Ordered by Subject

Search Newsletter Archives: What is Full Protection, Partial Protection and who is the Pine Bush? – By Lynne Jackson – June / July 2022 Newsletter A Tribute To Lew Oliver, our wonderful lawyer The Pine Bush’s Most Famous Resident – The Karner Blue Butterfly Save the Pine Bush Victories and Fights The Thruway Authority Comes Across Royally, Dec 99/Jan 00Save the Pine Bush is 25!, Mar/Apr 03 Legislation regarding standing in court We Need the Environmental Access to Justice Act,…

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Oral Argument in Hotel Case Heard in Appellate Division

Go directly to Common Council Members Download a PDF of this announcement ALBANY: Tharaldson Development Company of North Dakota, wants to construct a Residence Inn Mariott hotel on Washington Avenue Extension, adjacent to a known Karner Blue butterfly site and a site that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service recognizes as occupied by Karner Blues. Sound familiar? Save the Pine Bush has been fighting this development since the hotel project was first proposed in 2003. We won in NYS Supreme…

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